THE third major of the golf season tees off on Thursday (Friday, Manila) with Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1, the overwhelming favorite to win the championship.
Scheffler has been on a roll, winning the PGA Championship, and then the Memorial two weeks later. He has three wins so far this season including the Byron Nelson.
Should he win, it would be his fourth major, counting the two Masters he previously won in 2022 and 2024.
Rory struggles
Rory McIlroy, the former world No. 1 who won the Masters this year to complete a career grand slam, is one of the favorites by virtue of his reputation, but his form of late does not suggest he would be a strong contender for the title.
He missed the cut in his last PGA Tour event, the Canadian Open. Not only did he miss it, his first since last year’s British Open in July, but did so very badly that many believe he is still struggling to adjust to his new driver. His old one was adjudged non-conforming.
McIlroy shot 71-78 and lost more than 10 strokes to the field, the second-worst mark of his career.
It’s a jarring result for McIlroy, who has put together a stellar season. His worst finish before this was a T47 in his previous start at the PGA Championship. Before that, he had not finished outside the top 20.
Rico Hoey shoots 72, tumbles to 36th place
Meanwhile, Rico Hoey, the first and only Filipino competing in the PGA Tour, had the misfortune of making his worst score on the final day of the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday (Monday, Manila).
In contention after three rounds with scores of 66-69-64, Hoey shot a two-over-par 72 in the fourth round and tumbled to a share of 36th place. He was inside the Top 10 with this three-round total of 11-under, just three strokes behind at the start of the final round.
Hoey will not be able to play in the US Open because of his ranking of 122. But had he won the Canadian Open, he would have earned a spot in the major event.
Pagdanganan, Ardina miss cut at ShopRite LPGA Classic
The golfing woes of the country’s LPGA campaigners seem to have no end as both Bianca Pagdanganan and Dottie Ardina missed the cut at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in New Jersey.
Ardina shot a one-under-par 70 in the second round but missed weekend play by one stroke. She had four birdies early and just a bogey on the front nine and was three-under at that point. But bogeys on 11 and 15 cost her dearly.
Pagdanganan, meanwhile, had six bogeys on her card against just one birdie in her round of 75 and missed the cut by five strokes.
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